Fighting for freedom and family

Caught between her Patron father and her Commoner mother, Jessamy’s entire life is a balancing act, yet she yearns for the freedom to become whomever she wants. She relishes her secret sessions on the Fives court, where she trains for the intricate, dangerous athletic event that could someday bring her glory. But when Jes’ family is endangered by cruel Lord Gargaron, she must focus on saving them from a fate worse than death.

A sinister, enchanting forest

“Down a path worn into the woods, past a stream and a hollowed-out log full of pill bugs and termites, was a glass coffin . . . and in it slept a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives.” So begins Holly Black’s exquisite story about siblings Hazel and Ben and the sleeping faerie prince they swore to protect.

The dark reality of diamonds

The diamond mines of Marange in Zimbabwe serve as the setting for this portrait of a family in turmoil, which focuses on a tenacious 15-year-old boy named Patson Moyo. Patson and his little sister, Grace, adore their father, a man who has dedicated his life to teaching. But it is their new stepmother, known simply as “the Wife,” who compels her husband to leave his home and seek wealth by moving to Marange, where her brother James is involved in mining. In Marange, she claims, there are “diamonds for everyone.”

A teen determined to see through the spin

Set in the wealthy fictional town of Haverport, New York, The Doubt Factory is the story of one teen’s determination to fight society’s most overlooked evil—the public relations industry that covers up and spins corporate atrocities, even if the worst firm happens to be headed by her own father.

A Gothic favorite comes stateside

Most of the time, interviews about an author’s new novel take place a year or so after the book’s completion. So it might take a bit of doing for an author to feel up-to-date, especially if he or she is already ears-deep into the next project. Carlos Ruiz Zafón had to travel much further back in time when he spoke with BookPage from his home in Los Angeles about his fourth young adult novel, Marina: A Gothic Tale, which was first published in his native Spain in 1999.

Dark realities of both legitimate and underground worlds

Set on the beaches and back alleys of Los Angeles, The Prince of Venice Beach is the tale of a homeless runaway who lives an easy life off the grid—until his only means of income turns morally complex.

Seventeen-year-old Robert “Cali” Callahan ran away from an endless cycle of foster homes when he turned 14.

Pictures of a relationship postmortem

Daniel Handler is a force to be reckoned with in the world of children’s literature. He’s a beloved and best-selling author of both middle grade and picture books, but don’t be surprised if you don’t recognize his name: He’s best known for the Series of Unfortunate Events, written under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket....

Painting the breakup blues

It should not shock you to learn that Why We Broke Up doesn’t have a happy ending. It’s the story of a breakup, told through the items Minerva Green collected while dating Ed Slaterton, which she has boxed up to return to him. The novel is Min’s letter to Ed, with each chapter centered on one item in the box and a story about how it came to be there. Daniel Handler provides...

Smart chicks and superstitions

The first two installments of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s wildly popular Beautiful Creatures series introduced a group of extraordinary teenagers in small-town Gatlin, South Carolina. Ethan (a mortal), his Caster girlfriend and their friends have faced death, rebirth, uncontrollable changes in magical powers and the ultimate choices...